Over and Over
by NJCD
Summary: *Collaboration with SilentWriter876* They've had little fights before. They would say that they're sick of each other and wanted out. But the next day, they'd both agree that the cruel words were hollow and had no real meaning behind them.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey." Eli said, as he came up behind Clare, slid his arms around her, and kissed the side of her neck, lingering his lips there for a moment, "Do you wanna hang out today?" He glanced up at Alli and Jenna, who were coming towards the couple from down the hall. "Or are you gonna be with your real friends?" He added. Clare closed her locker and turned to him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shook his head slowly, "You like them more than you like me." He accused. She stared at him, "That's crazy. How can you think that?" She asked, though used to Eli's accusationse. "And now I'm crazy." He muttered. "Why do you do that?" She demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

"Do _what_?" He snapped. "You always twist my words around and take offense to everything." Eli scoffed, defeated, "Whatever, Clare. Are you coming over or not?" She sighed, "Yeah, fine. I just need to get my stuff. Ill meet you at your car in 5 minutes." He placed a tender hand on her bicep and pressed his lips to her.

The kiss was gentle and short. Eli pulled away and walked down the hall, not uttering another word to his girlfriend. At that moment, Alli leaned against Clare's locker, "How's Eli?" She teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

"He's so...I don't even know. He's stupid, annoying . . ." Alli only rolls her eyes at her best friend's usual complaints, "You could always break up with him." Swiftly shaking her head st the thought, Clare says, "No. No, we're great together. We just fight a little." Alli scoff, "A little, Clare? If I hadn't been the one who got you together, I'd mistake you guys for enemies. Or siblings."

Clare gave a small laugh, before looking rather sad, "You're right. I'm going to his house now. I'll talk to him."

She said goodbye to Alli and headed towards Morty. Eli was leaned against the hearse, smoking a USA Gold. "Took you long enough." Eli complained. "Well, I'm here now, ashtray." He smirked and tossed the ciggerette to the ground to stomp on it.

"I got you this." He handed her a small chocolate heart. Clare's heart began to race at once. She looked up at Eli with tearful eyes. The gesture, as small as it may have been touched her heart. Eli scoffed, "It's only candy, Clare. Chill out." His voice of is cold and annoyed.

The special moment is gone. They climbed into the hearse. Soon, they arrived at Eli's and went straight to his room. Eli plopped onto his bed and Clare flipped through his DVD s, "All your movies are blood, gore and terror." She complained. Instead of insulting her, he grabbed her hand and, with one swift movement, pulled her onto of him, "Let's just make-out then." Hr says, pressing his lips to Clare's.

She placed her legs on either side of him, straddled him, and kissed him back. These moments were nice. The moments with no concerns, no fighting and no insults.

But then they heard the click of the door and turned to see Eli's mother looking embarrassed and amused, "I didn't know you had company, Eli . . . I'll leave you to it. Condoms are under the sink." She closed the door and fled down the hall. Clare instantly climbed off of Eli and sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?" Eli sat up and placed his arm around Clare's waist.

"She thinks we were going to have sex..." Clear responded. "So? She just wants us to be safe." She moved away from him slightly, "I'm not having sex until I get married. You and your parents all know that." He drops his arm, "I don't get that. You're gonna do it eventually . . . why wait?"

"It's-It's-you wouldn't understand." Eli kissed her cheek, "Don't you trust me?" She spun her ring around, "Of course . . . but trust isn't only what it's about." He kissed her neck and moved behind her, lining his legs up with her, "Okay. Let's just . . ." He kissed her neck harder and bit little bits of her skin.

"Not now, Eli . . . your mom knows what were doing." He pulled away abruptly, "Why do you always care so much about what people think. My mom doesn't give a flying fuck about what were doing!" Clare stood up and grabbed her bag, "Grow up, Eli." He pursed his lips, "Yeah, how about you grow up, Ms. Chasity?! Get over yourself."

Clare clutched her bag to her chest, her face becoming red with anger and embarrassment. "Well, why don't you go fuck someone else, if you're not willing to wait for me?!" She yelled. "I'm not ready yet, Eli!"

He laughed coldly. "Maybe I should fuck someone else, Clare." He seethed, hopping off his bed and leaning in close to her face. "If you're going to be such a prude." Clare clenched her fists, tears filling her eyes. Eli smirked.

"What's wrong, Clarebear? The truth hurts you too much?" He laughed again. "We've been together for quite a while now, Clare. Almost a year. And yet . . . you don't love me enough to let me make love to you?!"

Clare scoffed, the tears finally falling. "_You_ don't love me. All we do is fight. We're only together because we don't bother to, it's not an issue to attend to. You don't love me. All we do is argue, yell at each other, when you do something sweet for me, when I think you actually love me by doing that, you insult me for it! You don't love me! YOU DON'T!" She screamed, throwing her bag in his face. "All you want from me is sex, then you'll dump me."

"What . . . ?" His face softened as he looked at her with hurt green eyes. "What do you mean?" He reached out to pull her into his arms, but she stepped back, clenching her tiny fists. "Clare, I'd never . . . I'm not with you because of . . . Clare, you know better than that . . . "

"Oh yeah, right." She rolled her eyes, and furiously wiped away her tears. "All we ever do if fight . . . insult each other . . . why would you stay with me if that's all we do? Of course, so you can get what you want and then leave . . ."

"Clare . . . I can't believe . . . " He couldn't find the words to say. He never, ever wanted, or will want to use Clare for . . . sex. But she's right, all they do is fight. But he does love her, he really does. He doesn't know why he insults or argues with her, he just does. It makes him angry when she accuses him of stuff or when she complains too much, but he doesn't really mean to hurt her.

"I can't believe you would accuse me of using you . . ."

The anger was gone, he just felt hurt and sad. "If I really wanted sex from you, I would've taken it without your consent, to be honest . . . but I can wait. It just makes me feel like you don't trust me to let me make love to you. . . . If I really wanted sex, I would'nt have stayed with you, I would've been gone by now..."

"Then go..."

"W-what?"

"Go on. Break up with me. Have sex with all the girls you desire."

"Clare . . . don't say that. I don't want another girl. All I want is you, all I need is you. I've never looked at another girl ever since we got together, never wanted another girl. It's you, only you . . . Clare, even though I insult you . . . or hurt you . . . I still love you. I only do those things because you hurt me too much sometimes . . . and-"

"Really, Eli? Then how come when you do something sweet for me, and I react positively, gratefully, and you get annoyed? What the hell is that?"

"Clare, let me explain-"

"No, we're through, you jerk!"

"Alright, that's enough!" He yelled, suddenly angry. Why the hell didn't she believe him? Okay, so he did do the stuff she's talking about, but he said he was sorry, and she wasn't giving him a chance to explain.

"Fine, if you want out so much, then we are done!"

"Fine!" She yelled back, tears running down her cheeks. She sobbed as she ran out of his room. Eli sighed and abruptly sat on his bed. What did he do?

"Oh, hey dear." Cece as Clare came down. She frowned when she noticed that she was crying. "Clarebear, what happened?"

"N-nothing..." She sobbed. "I gotta go, ..." She quickly left the house. Cece narrowed her eyes. 'Eli...' She thought angrily, and charged up the stairs.

Eli paced back in forth in his room. How could he and Clare be over? Their one year anniversary was in 2 weeks. He couldn't lose her. She'd always been there for me, Eli thought. She helped me get my life on track.

Bit, they've had little fights like this before. They would say that they're sick of each other and wanted out. The next day, however, whoever initiated the break-up, in this case, Eli, would go to the other and they'd both agree that the cruel words were hollow and had no real meaning behind them.

Hopefully, he and Clare can make amends.

"Eli, why was Clare crying when she left?" He jumps slightly at the voice, and looks at his mom, noticing her for the first time. "We had a fight."

"What about?" She demanded, knowing it had to be serious, the way Clare left. "Nothing." She said, grabbing his phone from his desk, "But I have to go make it right."


	2. Chapter 2

08-03-13

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**Author's Note:**

**I recently finished my story 'Forced Love' and a lot of people have been asking me to write a squeal. So, I figured I might as well. I'm open to ideas and if anyone wants to apply to be my 'beta reader' (assuming I have the right definition) just PM me.**

**Oh, and I'm wondering . . . am I the only guy on here? On this website? I feel like everyone else are girls.**

**Thanks to all who read and review our story, we love reading your input.**

**-NJCD**

* * *

Clare sobbed uncontrollably into her Hello Kitty pillow, she couldn't get over what happened between her and Eli. She had loved him, loved him so much, despite the huge fights they had, despite his cruel words and rude gestures.

She knew she was part of the reason why they broke, with her being a drama queen and all. It was partly her fault, because of her sarcasm and ignorance. She sobbed harder, clenching her fists. Both of them had been so stupid.

But maybe it was for the best. They didn't exactly get along, they didn't show their love for each other, so maybe their breakup was for the best. She sat up, sniffling and trying to wipe away her tears.

She grabbed a mirror from her bedside table and stared at herself. She was a mess. Her eyes were red and swollen, her hair was very messy, her face was pale and tear-stained. She put the mirror down, dejected.

She lay back on her bed, feeling as if her heart was crushed.

She sat up again as she heard someone tap on her window. She squinted at the window, but couldn't see anything. It was too dark. She sniffed, laying her head back down on the pillow. 'It must be the wind or something . . . ' She thought.

Another set of soft taps.

Clare sat up, frightened, till she heard a familiar voice say her name. She froze as anger and hurt filled her eyes, making them a dark blue.

"Clare, babe, please open up. I have to talk to you. I need to talk to you."

She walked slowly towards the window. And saw Eli's face, which was pale and tear-stained like hers. He clung to the window, breathing hard. Clare sighed and opened the window, letting him in. She didn't want him to fall and injure himself.

Even after everything, she didn't want him hurt. Eli climbed in, and shut the window behind him. "Clare, I need to talk to you, babe." She turned her head away, her heart beating fast. "I don't have anything to say to you."

"I have a lot to say to you." He reached out to take her hand, but she roughly yanked it away. Eli sighed sadly. "Babe, please listen to me." He took in a deep breath. "Clare, I love you. I don't want to lose you, I love you so much, you meant the world to me. I'm sorry if I hurt you sometimes, I don't mean it. I don't mean to yell at you or act cold towards you. I love you Clare, I don't want to lose you. Please give me another chance."

She didn't respond for a while, tears were running down her face. "Please, look at me Clare."

She turned around, and nodded. "Eli, I love you too . . . I'm sorry . . . I do want to be with you."

He sighed in relief and hugged her. "Thank you babe, for giving me another chance and for taking me back." He took off his skull ring and slipped it on her ring finger. "Babe. I promise you, from now on, no more fights or sarcastic remarks or anything like that. It's just you, me and happiness."

Clare smiled, nuzzling her nose in his neck. "Just you and me."

"Tell me why you love me." Eli whispers. A small smile comes over her face, "I love you . . . because you're sweet. You're cute. You like to cuddle. And you sensitive."

He swallowed a breath, "I'm sensitive?" He mirrors. "Yeah." She cuddles closer to him, with sleep in thought. "Sensitive." He muttered. Clare gave a small 'hmm' in response. He reaches for the blanket and covers them both. "If you're mom catches me in here, we'll both get in trouble." Eli whispers.

"Don't leave."

It felt good to be wanted. But he couldn't stop thinking about what she'd said. 'Sensitive' Did she mean he was weak? Or emotional? Or both? God, why'd she have to say sensitive?

The word couldn't stop floating around his head. Sensitive. "Clare." Eli shook her. "Hmm?"

"What do you mean by sensitive?" She opened her eyes and removed her face from Eli's neck. Their lips connected for a second, Then Clare said, "You know how to make me happy. You're sensitive to my needs." A wave of relief washed over his, "Oh. Okay."

"Do you think I am, too?"

He glanced in her direction. "I guess, yeah." She frowned, struck by his unsure tone. "You guess?" He shrugs one shoulder, "Yeah. I mean, I-" He stopped himself. He had planned to say that he wished she'd go further with him, but realized but awful that sounded.

"I . . . I just . . . it's hard . . . " He trailed off, stuck st the word hard. He began to imagine what Clare would look like under him, naked. "Eli." She tried to re-initiate the conversation with a stern voice, but Eli refused to. He moved his thighs further from her and whispered, "Just go to sleep."

Clare sat up, blue eyes flaring. What the hell was wrong with Eli again? "No . . . " She said defiantly, crossing her arms. "Clare, please don't start anything . . . " Eli pleaded. "Me?" Clare hissed. "You mean YOU." She frowned. "What the hell do you mean by 'I guess'?"

"Clare, I-"

"You don't think I'm sensitive to your needs? You don't think I make you happy? Well, why are you with me then?" She stood up. "I don't believe this. You know what, I'm going out. This is a load of crap."

"Clare, you don't understand. Let me explain, I-"

"Enjoy my house, while I go out and be a insensitive fuck to everyone." She stormed out of the room. Eli sat up. "Oh shit . . ." He sighed, slid on his jakcet and ran after her.

"Clare, please-" She ignored his and went down the stairs, and out the front door, slamming it. The force of her anger shook the house and would've woke everyone up if they weren't already awake, in the living room, watching television.

They turn to Eli, who no one even knew was in the house. "Eli . . . I didn't realize you were here." Helen says. He looked over at the door, "Uh, yeah. We were doing homework. I gotta go now . . ." With a turn of the heel, he ran after Clare, calling her name.

She didn't bother to reply, only continued walking. "Take my jacket." He said. He slipped his arms out of the sleeves and tried to put in around her shoulders.

"I don't want your fucking jacket." She growled. "You're going to freeze to death. Just wear it." He pleaded. "No. I just want to be left alone. Okay, Eli? Can you do that?" He stopped on the road and glanced up to see snow very lightly coming down. "Clare, it's snowing. Just take my damn jacket." He said. His voice had raised up half an octave.

"Go away, Eli! I don't want you here right now! I just want you . . . gone. So just leave. Go home." Her voice trembled in the cold.

Eli wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "Eli-" He grabbed one arm and forced it through the sleeve of his jacket, then did the same to the other arm. "Sto-"

"I'll go, okay?!" He cried, releasing her, "But you're not going to freeze to death." He spat, his face close to hers. "If you'd actually let me explain myself sometimes, we would never be fighting. So let me explain. Okay?!" She nods.

"You are 'sensitive' to my mental and social needs. But it feels awful that you don't love me enough to go any farther. I get you have a vow and I can deal with that, but all we've done is make out. It makes me feel . . . never mind! It doesn't matter anyways."

"Just say it Eli . . . I'll listen." Her lips were pursed. He almost smiled, feeling grateful, "I feel like you don't want me. I feel like I'm not good enough and it sucks!" He's near yelling, "It feels like you don't-forget it. It's fine. Umm, I'm just . . . I'm going home now." He took a breath.

"I'm going. I'm . . . I have to go." He turned around and walked down the icy road. Clare pulled the jacket tighter around her and gave a sob before running in the opposite direction. Eli was right. She had never let anything go farther then heavy kissing. Whenever he'd try to move his hand somewhere, Clare found a way to stop him.

Couples who'd been dating far less than them had already had sex. Clare sat down, hidden by bushes, and contemplated they're relationship. She loved Eli . . . and Eli loved her. So having sex wouldn't be a bad thing.

Eli, walking the opposite way, had already reached his house and was practically destroying his room. He was smashing his possessions, slamming things and throwing them onto the floor. After two minutes of this, the door burst open and Eli's father, 'Bullfrog', grabbed him by his shoulders, "Eli, Eli, calm down!" He yelled and forced him to sit on the bed.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "I don't know. It's-It's me and Clare . . . we're fighting. Again." Bullfrog sighed, "You fight every week! Just break up with-"

"I love her!"

Bullfrog sighed, "You're unhappy." Eli stood up, "I'm fine. Get out." Bullfrog sighed again, "Eli-"

"Get out!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Guest: Uhh, well, in this story, actually, Eli is not the only 'abusive' one, but Clare, too. They both are 'abusive towards each other.**

_**-NJCD**_

* * *

Eli huffed his breath heavily while he cleaned the mess he'd made last night. He had no school today and couldn't decide whether to call Clare or not. _Maybe she does just make me unhappy. _He thought, _Or maybe I'm not good enough._

Once he finished sweeping broken glass, he ran downstairs, two steps at a time and into his kitchen. Cece glanced up at him, "How are you and Clare doing?"

"We're fine." He says softly.

"She came over this morning. You were asleep." He pulled out a soda and muffin and joined his mother on the couch, "Yeah? What'd she say?"

"She wanted to talk to you. She told me to tell you to call her when you're awake." He finishes his muffin in 3 bites and chugs his soda, "Was she upset?"

"I don't know, sweetie. Just go any call her." He stood up and tossed the now-empty soda can into the trash, "I'll just go to her house." After a relaxing walk, Eli knocked on the door of the Edwards house, relieved that the parents' cars were gone.

The door opened slowly.

"Hey."

Eli smiled at the girl in front of him. She was so fragile and beautiful. He could only hug her and make his way inside. "I'm sorry." He whispered against her neck, where he had his face buried, like her last night.

"I'm sorry I'm not what you want me to be." She choked on the words. Eli let go of her and took her hands, "Forget about that. I can wait until we get married."

"No, you're right. All we've done is kiss and I guess I'm just...shy." He looks down at their shoes and sways back and forth, very slightly, "We fight a lot."

"And...?" She said gently. "So?" Eli frowned, not looking up at her. He couldn't. "And that's not healthy for our relationship . . ." Clare's eyes grew big and watery, and her lower lip began to quiver. "Are...you...Are you breaking up with me?"

"Yes..." He croaked. "It's what's best...For you and me..."

"B-but..." She began to sob. "I-I love you, I'd die without you." She began to tremble. "Clare, I-"

"N-no! Fine. Leave me. Leave me here to die."

"Clare, let me-"

"Leave!" She screamed. Eli shook his head, and pulled her into a tight hug. "No. I won't." Clare began hitting his back. "You don't want me anymore, you want to break up, you just said it!" She sobbed. "Leave then, LEAVE!"

"Clare, listen, I only want what's best for us."

"Breaking up, being away from you, us parting ways is NOT best for ME." Eli sighed. He didn't want to break up with her, he just thought she wanted to. He thought she wanted time apart from him. He was relieved that she didn't want to part ways.

"Okay, okay." He kissed her hair. "I'm sorry..." He tilted her head up, and looked into her dark blue eyes. "We'll stay together." She nodded, calming down. "Y-you promise?"

"I promise. We'll be together, love and care for each other, forever and always."

She smiled up at him, wiping away her tears, then she hugged him. "Forever and always..." She said softly, and began tugging his hand. "Yes?"

"I'll prove it to you, that I love you."

"H-huh?"

"Follow me..." She whispered, and began leading him to her room. His cheeks turned slightly red. Was she implying what he _thought_ she was implying. As she opened her bedroom door, Eli knew what she wanted.

A small smile appeared on his face, and his heart began to pound.

Eli trembled slightly as he sat on Clare's bed. She smiled at him as she sat on his lap. "S-so..." She said, blushing and avoiding his gaze. "What do we do? H-how does this work? Should we just, uh, take our...our clothes off?" Eli smiled weakly, his heart was beating like crazy.

She smiled shyly. "E-Eli? You okay...Because you're red, a-and you're not responding..."

Eli smiled. In truth, he was nervous. He didn't think that Clare would ever want to, that she would ever consider... doing it with him while they were young and unmarried. Now that she wanted to, he sort of didn't want to.

And why?

Well, she was innocent. And completely innocent, and he didn't want to... taint her just yet. He wanted to make love when she was really ready, he didn't want her to do this just because she wanted to prove that she loved him. And he could just feel a deep guild bubbling in his stomach.

Because he already knew, he knew she loved him very much.

"Clare..." He took in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "I don't think we should do this..."

Clare almost sopped breathing. "W-what?"

"I don't think we should make love." He said firmly, holding on to her waist. Clare frowned and her big blue eyes filled with tears. Her heart dropped, as she thought of something. "You don't want me..." She sniffed, but, in a way, felt relieved.

Eli looked shocked. _What?_ That was far from what he was thinking, from what he felt. "Clare, no, you don't get it." He wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. "Don't cry." He kissed her. "It's just that...I know you're not ready, and I only wanna do it when you are. And I know I always pressure you but this feels wrong. I want you so much, don't doubt that, you're the most beautiful girl in the world, of course I want you. Everyday." He kissed her cheek. "I want to when you want to."

Clare looked up at him. "Really?" She sniffed. "You'd do that for me?"

He nodded. "Of course, I can wait. You're not going anywhere." He smirked. "And when we do do it, I'll make it your best time ever." She blushed, and hugged him. "Thank you so much." She kissed him. "Anything for you..." He murmured, nuzzling his nose in her neck. "Anything for you."

"I love you, Eli."

"I love you too, Clare."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi. Sorry it took us so long to update...we _both _had writer's block. Enjoy the chapter!**

**_-NJCD_  
**

* * *

"Hey Clare? It's getting late, I should go home." Eli said softly. Clare sat up, and looked at the clock. It was 5pm. "Stay for dinner." She said, with a big smile. "Like, with your parents?" He said. A feeling of uneasiness shot through him. "Yeah. They won't mind."

"I-I don't know. I don't want to impose. Besid-"

"You wouldn't be imposing, Eli." She said sternly. He twirled one of his rings, "I don't know, Clare..." He felt horrible. For one, he was probably letting Clare down. And for two, he felt immensely anxious. He was almost terrified of her parents. He didn't want to be judged, though he knew they had every right to judge him.

"We've been dating a year, and you've never had dinner with us. Please?" She looked at him with big eyes. "Okay. Fine. I'll stay for dinner. Just...go make sure it's cool with your mom." She smiled even bigger, "Actually, she's been wanting to have you over for dinner for a while now."

* * *

"So, Eli, how's school going?." Clare's father asked. Eli, obviously uncomfortable, shifted in his chair and stared down at his food, "It's fine." Clare felt horrible. She could see Eli was uncomfortable, and knew it was her fault. "And what kind of grades are you getting?" Eli gave a mere shrug, before remembering that how he acted at this dinner could affect Clare's parent's opinions towards him.

"I mostly get A's and B's." He said softly. Clare looked at Eli, trying to figure him out. He was never nervous like this, nor was he ever quiet. Her parents sensed the tension as well, and gave Clare a nervous look.

Eli, oblivious to the Edward's worry, felt even more nervous and could feel his underarms sweating profusely. He could feel his throat tightening and soon a suffocating feeling trapped all the air in his lungs. He tried to take quiet breaths, but was either breathing too much or not enough. Clare was holding his hand under the table, "Eli's thinking about going to NYU."

Clare felt stupid just telling her parents this now when her and Eli had been dating for so long. She felt it to be ridiculous that this was only the second time Eli'd came over to have dinner. "Oh? That's a great school, I hear." Randall commented.

"Yeah."

A wave of thick tension spread through the room. As much as Eli wanted to make a good impression, he was immensely nervous of saying the wrong thing. "Are you okay?" Clare whispered. Eli pulled his hand away from hers, "I-I have to go." He stood up and left without another word. Clare looked at her parents faces; a masque of surprise, suspicion and worry.

"I don't know what's wrong with him." Clare admits and takes a sip of water, "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

* * *

Eli Goldsworthy hurriedly put his things into his locker. He wanted to go to class immediately, he didn't want Clare to catch up with him. He slammed his locker shut, and flinched when he saw Clare walking towards him. 'Too late...'

Eli closed his eyes as she approached him. "Eli..." The sound of her soft voice made him clench his fists. "Eli, are you okay?" He heard her sigh when he didn't respond. "What was up with you last night? Was there something wrong?"

"No..." Eli managed to say, his heart beating fast. "They liked you, you know. They just didn't get why you were so nervous and paranoid." Eli frowned, opening his eyes. "I wasn't..." He said lowly, eyes dark. "I'm not weak. So can you just leave?"

"What's wrong with you today?" She asked, getting angry. "You know what? I'm sorry. I should have never invited you to have dinner with us. It was huge mistake. Don't talk to my parents if they make you feel uncomfortable. In fact, don't ever enter my house." She began to walk away, her own fists clenched in anger.

"Clare, wait!" Eli called, but she was already gone. He sighed and banged his head against his locker. What the fuck did he just do? He treated her coldly, all because he was insecure. All she wanted to do was help him, and he pushed her away.

Clare entered her classroom with a frown on her face. What was wrong with Eli? All she wanted to know was what was wrong with him, and he got mad at her. She sat down, putting her head in her hands.

"Hey, Clare."

Clare glanced up at Adam Torres, who sat down next to her. "Are you okay?" She sighed, "It's Eli. He acted...weird at dinner yesterday. We had dinner with my parents, and he was totally out of it." Adam frowned, "Doesn't sound like Eli." Clare shrugged. Adam took her sadness as a sign to go and talk to Eli, which he set off to do.

He found Eli, sitting against his locker, reading. "Hey." Eli glanced up at Adam, "Hey." He sits down, "Clare said you guys are fighting again." Eli slammed his book down, "God dammit, she can't keep anything to herself!"

Adam ignored Eli's outburst, "What happened at dinner last night?" Eli sighed, "I don't know. She's just overreacting. She keeps trying to get inside of me, trying to figure me out and I hate it."

"She's trying to see why your acting like...like how you do. You act stubborn and you don't express how you feel to her. She doesn't know what you want." Eli huffed his breath out and averted his eyes back to his book.

"Eli, she's only trying to help you. To understand you." Adam said gently, putting a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "She doesn't know what you want. Can you really blame her for trying to figure out what's wrong?"

Eli sighed. "No..."

"Right. Why don't you patch things up with her? All she wants to do is help, Eli. And you better start accepting that before it's too late."

Eli's heart skipped a beat at Adam's words and he frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, she loves you and all, don't get me wrong, but..." Adam cleared his throat. "I see she's not happy, I don't think she's gonna stick around any longer. She loves you, yeah, but she's not gonna stay with you if you keep on treating her like trash, or worse, ignoring her." Adam shook his head. "She's already trying, but you aren't. I don't think she can handle you and your ... Negativity."

Eli licked his lips, nervous. He began to panic. "I... You're right... Thanks, Adam." Eli began to walk away. "I'm gonna patch things up..." He said to himself as he headed towards the library, the place he knew Clare went to when she was sad or depressed. "I'm not gonna let her get away..."

He spotted Clare sitting at a desk, sulking. Her head was buried in her arms. She looked so vulnerable. Eli pursed his lips and walked up behind her, not making much noise. He realized she was crying when he was closer. He could hear her soft sobs.

Eli moved his hands forward and slid them around her waist. Clare could easily recognize Eli's hands, and didn't even flinch. Taking this as a good side, Eli sat down and scooted close to her, "I didn't mean to snap at you." He said, "I was just embarrassed about my behavior last night." He kissed the nape of her neck, "I get nervous around people I don't know that well. And if I were to say the wrong thing, they might've made us break up."

"Maybe that's for the best." She mumbled incoherently. "What?" She sighed into her sweater, "Nothing..."


End file.
